bachs_epic_thinking_zonefandomcom-20200214-history
User blog:BachLynn23/Ideas to Avoid Character Boredom
So in the past we've had times where users get massively bored with their characters and they end up with a revolving door of them, not that this has happened lately, but while things are ok I figured it was a good time to give some suggestions on what you could do with characters when you get bored with them, before it becomes an issue again. Common Reasons #Maybe you were hasty in making the character and didn't put as much thought into it as you'd have liked #You just can't get a grasp on how to rp their personality #You just can't get a grasp on how to rp their personality based on their past history or perhaps medical/emotional conditions you gave them #You want new shinier characters #Maybe another user sent someone important to them away or the user left the wiki, such as happened to me with Del leaving, so as I'd barely rp'd Lucas, and she gave him to me as her other character's boyfriend Darius, I chose to send him away #Something happened with that character, be it in character or out of character that has given you bad vibes #WIP Possible Solutions Now the most common solution is to mark the character as gone or missing, but let's face it, that's a kind of boring/easy way out, here's some alternatives. Give Them a New Home Some users aren't as good at making claims or don't have time, some may have came in 2nd up in a contest and may have the adopt a demigod/count as a minor prize, either way, perhaps a different user could breathe new life into a character you for various reasons don't want any more. Now for some this is a hard decision to make, they've poured themselves into these characters and the idea of seeing someone else rp'ing them may be tough, but ask yourself this, if you really truly cared so much about this character that you can't bare to see someone else rp them, why are you sending them away? Preventative Measures If your reasons for sending them away is because you were hasty in making them, here's an idea >.< put more thought into making them. Complicated Personalities Did you make their personality too complex or not complex enough, well even in real life people's personality changes with events, time, maturity, etc. Perhaps you could, in the course of roleplay, develop their personality into something that you are more comfortable rp'ing. For instance, my character Felicity Brandenburg started out as a hardcore b****. That level of "b****" can be hard to maintain in roleplay, so over time I've developed her, sure her general base personality is still a b**** but she's much more than that now. One thing I try to do, is take a look at myself and my personalities/history/conditions like a list, and incorporate a piece of me into every character. Whether it be a certain quirk, interest, personality, flaw, childhood event, that way on some level, even if it may be small, I can relate to my character's which makes rp'ing them easier. Complicated Pasts or Medical/Emotional Conditions Now I come from a unique perspective, where for reasons too personal for this blog, I happen to have a unique understanding of a lot of emotional disorders. Now saying your character has something cool like DID/MPD (multiple personalities) may sound cool on paper, but it can be a b**** to rp properly. Not that this has stopped many from trying it, or from using the cliché mostly untrue version of what multiple personalities even means or how it presents. Watching someone rp things entirely wrong can be frustrating for other users, and yourself if you have a hard time maintaining what you "think" is how that medical or emotional condition should be rp'd. What I try to do, if I don't have at least first or second hand (that either myself has the condition/past or I am very close to someone who does) I do research. Yea research sounds boring I know, but it's not like you have to write a 10 page research paper on it, just google around a bit, get a feel for symptoms, etc., before embarking on roleplaying a condition or past you can't relate to Other Users Getting in the Way Users leave, we can't all stay forever, and sometimes that directly effects your characters. User:Wolf, the Hunter may be back now, but a few months ago when he left it impacted a bunch of my character's relationships. Most I chose to work towards new goals, but two, Clarice and Selene, I felt that not having Damianos and Hunter around it would not make sense in the story line that Clarice and Selene would stay. If I pretended Hunter and Damian had broken up with them, thus breaking their hearts, realistically the two would probably rejoin the hunt, if I pretended they just left on good terms, there's no rationale reason why Selene and Clarice would stay at camp without them, especially where I had no reason to believe Nic would ever return. Thus making it entirely reasonable to opt for sending them away, then killing them off, keeping them around or giving them up for adoption. Do Over Maybe you like the character, but maybe you felt (this is probably more applicable for characters made prior to when claiming became more advanced) that you could have put more thought into making their history interesting, well hope is not lost, if all you need is a bit of a face lift on the history, simply get admin approval on a bit of a touch up. Character Development Before sending away, giving up for adoption or killing off, ask yourself if perhaps coming up with a more complex or interesting character development may breathe new life into the character. Develop quests for them, story lines, ups downs, controversy, drama, etc. Killing in Style Ok so you've decided you realllllllly don't want them any more, now most don't like to put a lot of effort into killing, but a good and mature role player wouldn't simply want to just say "ok they are dead", but would want to act it out. Now generally speaking, camp is at war with the BC, but is it really a war if no one can ever die? Because we can't kill character's without permission, and is it really realistic that every quest goes off with out any fatalities? Perhaps come up with a fun way for your character to die with style, offering them up to be used as a fatality in a fight, whether by accident or due to the BC War, or perhaps as a causality in a quest. Make their end meaningful. When all Else Fails Sometimes ending them away for a bit is realistic, not everyone always stays at camp 365 days a year, just don't end up with such a huge list of characters that are just "away" versus your active characters, that it may appear you care nothing for roleplay development and your only concern is shiny and new. Personal Examples Here are some examples of how I've killed off, sent away or adopted out: #Angelique Buchannon = Ok so I've read, researched, etc. a ton on DID/MPD, and decided to have a go at it, now granted hers was a lot more complex than just normal DID/MPD, as some of her alters were actually herself in past lives (you'd have to read her history to understand) but one problem I found with trying to RP this condition in roleplay, is a 1 hour conversation/date/event could take days to weeks to months in real time to roleplay out. True multiple personalities rarely presents in such a manner that she'd switch within minutes of each, plus it can be hard to remember which personality is which, what brings each one out. In the end, feeling that no one could rp a character with such a past/condition correctly I opted to have her killed off during a kidnapping RP. For anyone currently trying to pull off multiple personality disorder or who wants to in the future, my suggestion, do lots of research and keep the number of personalities to a minimum otherwise rp'ing them will be overwhelming and end up being entirely inaccurate. #Samara Malatesta = She has a decent history, nothing overly complex, easy personality, but back when we had a massive group roleplay situation, that involved kidnapped bc members and campers, to make things interesting I opted to have her killed of to further the storyline of her and those involved with her, and ultimately brought her back as a fear nymph. #Ianto Gorman = He has a decent history, simple personality, but I just never felt like I had a good feel for how to rp him, and when Hyu had a prize to cash in on, as I trust him both as a user and as a roleplayer, I opted to let him adopt Ianto and bring new life to him These are just a few examples, if you ever need help with ideas or what to do with a character, just ask. Category:HelpCategory:BachLynn23